Central Division
- What is the reaction to John McDonough’s first two seasons running the Blackhawks? One thing is for certain, expectations have certainly risen since he took the helm.
- Tom Reed reports that Nikita Filatov’s departure to the KHL was hardly a surprise to some Blue Jackets. (Writer’s note: Aaron Portzline of the Dispatch was on IC Radio last night and we will have that archive up later this afternoon.) Steve Mason returns between the pipes tonight for the Jackets.
- Sergei Fedorov harbors some ill-will towards the Red Wings organization for holding him back. The Wings lost last night but Jimmy Howard continues to gather very useful experience. If you saw the game or highlights last night you know that the Wings got hosed. (Writer’s note: David has a piece on this)
- The Predators are not scared by the fact that the Devils are coming to town, in fact they relish the challenge.
- Patrik Berglund has been struggling in his sophomore season and he thinks he knows why.
Northwest Division
- The Flames didn’t acknowledge a Brent Sutter/Dion Phanef yelling match, but they were not denying that it took place, writes Eric Duhatschek. “It’s between players and players and players and coaches, everyone involved because everyone cares,” said Sutter. Meanwhile, Fredrik Sjostrom says if Don Cherry showed a video of him not blocking a shot, then he should have been blocking that shot.
- The Avalanche is a team that relies on Craig Anderson, and that was certainly obviouslast night. Adam Foote didn’t play last night because of a jaw injury.
- John MacKinnon has a very good review of the first quarter of the Oilers’ season. The Oilers were furious over a hit that Ethan Moreau received from the Avalanche’s Ryan Wilson. The Oilers are finally shooting and it is paying off.
- Todd Richards called last night’s loss to Phoenix the “poorest performance of the year.”
- Alex Burrows hasn’t been the offensive force he was last season and he explains why. The Canucks will be less reliant on Burrows when the Sedins finally reunite.
Pacific Division
- The Ducks may be struggling on the ice, but they still give back to the community off of it. Jean-Sebastien Giguere thinks he knows what ails the struggling Ducks.
- Marc Crawford doesn’t think Alex Auld’s different style of play affects the way his team plays. Stars fans expecting a trade or two need to relax.
- The Kings missed Ryan Smyth last night offensively and were poor defensively as well, writes Helene Elliot.
- The Coyotes rode into Minnesota and defeated the Wild last night 3-2.
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